


coastline

by kogaritsu



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Falling In Love, M/M, Pre-Relationship, i fell asleep writing this skldfjs;dlkf, i saw long haired kanata and gunned it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-25 09:22:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18258419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kogaritsu/pseuds/kogaritsu
Summary: The smile that overtook Kanata’s blank expression and curious stare was one that rivaled the sun’s light. It wasn’t lip splitting, nor did it stretch from ear to ear. It was beautiful, cracking his stoicism and showing Chiaki a new face. In all the time they’d attended the same school, this was the most human expression he’d shown, so full of vulnerability and wonder. He was awe-inspiring, and the comparisons made between Kanata and a god of the sea suddenly made perfect sense.





	coastline

**Author's Note:**

> i woke up at 5:30 to take my dog out and now im going wild
> 
> this isn actually all that good and im not very confident about it but i spent time on it so shrug

The sharp smell of chlorine cut through the early morning air, complimenting the crying gulls and distant sound of crashing waves. Chiaki took tentative steps, as if approaching a skittish animal that’d run if he moved too quickly. Kanata wouldn’t run from him, and he wasn’t afraid of that. But water was sacred to him, it seemed, and it’d be awful rude to interrupt his time in the pool. So Chiaki walked softly, counting his steps. The gate squeaked on its hinges, but otherwise made no sound when he swung it open. 

The top of Kanata’s head was hardly visible over the lip of the school pool, and Chiaki sighed off stress he didn’t know he was carrying. Bubbles rose rapidly as he sunk to the bottom of the shallow end, staying under for a long time. After visiting a few times, Chiaki wasn’t all that worried about Kanata drowning, as he had basic survival instincts and knew how to float back to the surface. Instead of bothering him, he decided to try and remember where the clean towels were kept. The towels were stacked in the poolbox, and when Chiaki found them, he pulled a few out, ever mindful of Kanata’s hair. He’d hate for him to catch a cold.

A displacement in the water drew his attention, and he watched Kanata resurface. Algae eyes watched Chiaki, interested yet unimpressed by the implication that he’s have to get out of the water soon. Maybe it was just the runner’s high from high-tailing it to school, but every color Chiaki saw seemed deeply saturated. The flush high on Kanata’s cheeks looked more like a sunburn, and the contrast of pink and blue where his hair stuck to his face made his eyes strain. Leaving one towel on a chair and hugging the other to his chest, Chiaki approached Kanata like he’d approach a raging typhoon: slowly but without fear. Heroes don’t feel fear, after all.

Kanata met him at the edge, blinking up owlishly with his lips pressed into a firm line. It was as if he’d expected Chiaki to be angry with him, pressing his toes against the pool floor to be against the wall. Instead of scrutinizing him, Chiaki waved and smiled. A line formed between Kanata’s eyebrows, gaze untrusting. Chiaki kept his smile in place, futzing with the towel in his arms in hopes of soothing whatever frayed nerve was affecting Kanata’s mood. After making an almost uncomfortable amount of eye contact, Kanata relaxed some.

“‘Chiaki’ isn’t ‘afraid’ of me, ‘is’ he?” Glistening fingers walked along the side of the pool, skimming over the toe of Chiaki’s shoe.

“Why would I be scared of you?” Knees cracking as he squatted by the water, Chiaki looked down at the fan on floating hair framing Kanata like an angel’s halo. 

The smile that overtook Kanata’s blank expression and curious stare was one that rivaled the sun’s light. It wasn’t lip splitting, nor did it stretch from ear to ear. It was beautiful, though, cracking his stoicism and showing Chiaki a new face. In all the time they’d attended the same school, this was the most human expression he’d shown, so full of vulnerability and wonder. He was awe-inspiring, and the comparisons made between Kanata and a god of the sea suddenly made perfect sense. He didn’t say anything else, but he did straighten his back, lifting his shoulders from the water. As usual, his clothes were sopping wet, but Chiaki could see his shoes tossed out of the water’s reach. Standing as well, he unfolded the towel he was still holding, opening it in invitation.

It took him a moment, but as soon as Kanata was out of the water, Chiaki wrapped the towel around him. Wet hands rested on Chiaki’s, cold like the skin of a fish. The touch felt like a hit to the chest, emptying Chiaki’s lungs and swirling his guts into a raging whirlpool. Instead of taking the towel for himself, Kanata leaned against Chiaki to share warmth.

“You are ‘very kind’.” Eyelashes tickling Chiaki’s neck, Kanata relaxed fully against him, putting his weight into it.

His hair dripped noticeably, and the morning breeze picked up some more. It seemed that Kanata’s hair needed drying as soon as possible.

“I can dry your hair for you!” Chiaki pulled him away from the pool by the sides of his towel, walking backwards towards the chair he’d left the extra towel on.

Kanata sat in front of him on the cement, damp towel wetting the front of Chiaki’s pants. He couldn’t bring himself to care, however, as he was far too busy putting all of the focus in his body into carefully drying every strand of Kanata’s hair. As he ran both his fingers and the towel through it, Kanata turned sideways, laying his cheek on Chiaki’s thigh. The look in his eyes was overwhelmingly fond, eyes soft and smile denting the roundness of his cheeks. Even after his hair was dried enough to be left alone, Chiaki worked through the chlorine-induced knots, nails scratching gently against Kanata’s scalp. As he smoothed out the kinks, Kanata began to doze, eyes fluttering shut and shoulders slumping. Chiaki watched him doze for a while, ignoring how embarrassing it felt to admire his beauty in the morning light.

“We have ‘company,’” Kanata mumbled, sleepily pressing his cheek harder into Chiaki’s leg, “Class is ‘about’ to ‘start.’” 

As if on cue, Madara came through the gate, calling for Chiaki and promptly tripping over Kanata’s discarded shoes. Kanata was already sitting up, pulling his still-damp hair into a ponytail on the back of his head. Before he went after his shoes, he reached out to brush his fingers over Chiaki’s cheek, smiling his beautiful smile one last time. Chiaki choked on his words when he shouted his goodbye.


End file.
